News and Opinion

I reported on the Kinema junpoBest 10 and on the Mainichi awards, so for an interesting contrast, here are the results of the poll conducted by Eiga geijutsu (Film Art). I used to be one of the selectors, which is enough to tell you the people that vote for their best ten can be an eclectic bunch, including not only film critics, but filmmakers (including some whose films are up for contention!). They sometimes end up picking films of friends or people close to the Eigei (and possibly manipulating results by selecting who votes each year), but there is a genuine dedication to more independent films compared to the KineJun and Mainichi awards. They also pick the worst films, which actually affects the best poll since "worst" votes are subtracted from "best" votes in the best ten poll.